Simmons Students Visit Denmark and Sweden to Learn About Women in the Workforce

Professors from the Simmons School of Management took twenty students to Denmark and Sweden to explore how the countries support women in the workforce. The trip was planned after Associate Dean Patricia Deyton and Professor Cynthia Ingols took a group of students to Japan in Spring 2013. On the Japanese trip, students studied women’s involvement in the workforce and equity issues. Traditionally Japanese women leave the labor market when they get married; more recently Japanese women leave the labor market when they have their first child and they tend not to return.

In contrast to Japan, women in the Denmark and Sweden have a very high rate of participation in the labor market. The professors wanted to bring the students to these countries so that they could witness and learn firsthand what governmental and corporate policies encourage women to work.

In an interview with Professor Ingols, she explained that while they were in Denmark and Sweden they learned that policies and practices in corporations and the government encourages women to participate in the labor market. “For example, in Sweden the government provides maternal and paternal child-care leave and has an extensive system of high-quality childcare facilities, encouraging women’s participation in the work force,”she said. “However, just like the USA, the number of women in CEO positions is low. It seems that organizations can do a lot to get women into middle management positions but that it takes internal drive for women to reach senior management positions.”

The School of Management’s trips are open to all students at the school. To participate in the trip, people need to apply and be accepted into the course. In the spring of 2016, Professors Guertler and Gutlove are planning a trip to Cuba.

regions: Boston

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